Understanding Your Dog’s Personality

We bond so strongly to our animal companions. Humourous as the caption is, the video illustrates just how strongly our animals bond to us. You can see it in this sweet Dalmatian’s body posture and expression; just look at how relaxed the eyes and mouth are.

Do you have this deep bond with your dog? Or do you wonder sometimes if your dog even likes you? It takes time to develop a relationship with your dog. If your dog is new to your family don’t expect to have a blissfully harmonious relationship from the start. Allow time for you to get to know each other, make the effort to understand your dog’s personality.

Dog Personality?

You bet. Every dog is an individual, with a distinct personality. Dogs have emotions, intelligence and they express their own inner selves with unique, endearing and sometimes irritating mannerisms.

That’s Domino, my Belgian sheepdog. He was a wonderful companion for 14 years. Domino’s personality, like most herding breeds was the classic type A overachiever. He was willing to do anything I asked the instant I asked. His willingness to work and intelligence were beautiful and I was so lucky to have him in my life. If Domino could speak English he would have said, “What’s that? You want me to what? Okay I can do that. Let me show you how good I am at it! Look at how fast I am! What else can I do for you?”

That’s Xander, my 19 month, 90 pound puppy. His mom was a Great Pyrenees and daddy was most likely a Lab since he doesn’t have the Pyr’s size or hair. He does have the Pyr’s intelligence. And independence. Asking Xander to do something usually gets me this response, “Really? You know I know how to Sit, and Down. I did it just a while ago for you. Oh okay but only because I like you. Oh food? We’re cool.” He is every bit as smart as Domino, but he thinks about everything I ask of him. He is the polar opposite of Domino’s personality. Which is cool, and sometimes frustrating, but good too. It’s been a good learning experience having for my own a dog that challenges my ingenuity as a trainer.

I encourage you to learn your dog’s personality, and like any good friendship that won’t happen over night. Understanding your fur kid’s temperament is key to having a solid friendship, and building trust means you have to prove you’re worthy of it.

How do you do that? I tell you how in my new book, Dog Care and Training For The GENIUS. Look for it to be published next month. But for now, to help you build trust between you and your dog, try this…

Instead of playing on your phone during commercials, observe your dog. Don’t try and engage her attention. Just watch what she’s doing. Get in the habit of observing your dog’s behavior when you are not interacting directly to get a sense of who your dog really is. Does she entertain herself by playing with toys? Does she just sleep? Is she near you? In a different room? Curled up next to you? Try to get a sense of your dog’s inner emotional and mental state by observing how she behaves when she’s left to her own devices.

What is your dog’s personality? Tell me some of the things you’ve observed about your dog in the comments!